The series took a turn for the real with this episode, referencing the sex trade and Kuhio Avenue as the "red light" district in
Waikiki. (In its defense, it also has fantastic dance clubs). But props to the writers for reining in the fantasy a bit. The "drugging girls for sex trade masking a kidnapping of the Philippine consul's daughters and the murder of one" — while still incredible — is a little more graspable. Like it!
And a wink and a nod to the writers for inserting the "Hawaii chair" infomercial. Ah, memories.
We have a new series of locations to add to the mix. Let's fly:
The murdered girl is found next to the underwater shipwrecks located about a mile off Waikiki Beach. You can see them for real — and I promise, no dead bodies, but you'll see sharks, turtles, fish and scuba divers — on
Atlantis Submarines Waikiki. We offer the tour on 3DHawaii.com.
Excellent shots of tandem surfing with
Diamond Head in the background. I wonder if that was filmed at
Duke's Oceanfest in August or if they did it special for the episode?
More action out of the old Advertiser building: The hallway to the "morgue" area was where the old federal credit union used to be. Nice to see Masa Oki join the cast as the coroner. Hope to get more quotable weirdness out of him than, "I don't trust phones."
Neil Jacobs, CBS.
Chuck via Creative Commons.We saw a quick shot of windsurfing in
Kailua Bay (very popular for that and kiteboarding), which quickly panned to the posh home where the Philippine consul's family was staying: in Portlock, with a fantastic view of Maunalua Bay next to
Hawaii Kai. It's okay, we're getting used to these geographic leaps. Sort of.
Cliff1066 via Creative Commons.The Zephyr Club, on the outside, was set up at the waterfront at
Aloha Tower Marketplace, above. On the inside, it was the Oceans 808 club at
Restaurant Row, below.
Neil Jacobs, CBS.
The van pickup looked like a parking lot near the Ala Wai canal, but I couldn't say which. Then they actually traveled up Kuhio Avenue in Waikiki at night! Scary! (Not really.)
The van drop and prostitution den was the old printing facility behind the Advertiser building. As a former employee, it's nice to see the old girl getting some work.
Nice shot of the front of Diamond Head next to the lighthouse, right, off Diamond Head Road. See it on a
Diamond Head Walking Tour — easy if you're in Waikiki. Loving those helicopter swoops. They've got some skilled cameramen.
Neil Jacobs, CBS.The "drop" to pick up the consul's surviving daughter was the warehousing area (
pictured, above) next to Kewalo's Harbor and
John Dominis restaurant. (Thanks to Stephen C. for the tip last week!) And thumbs up for the martial arts, boys.
Neil Jacobs, CBS.And another one of those "It sure is funny to those of us who live in Hawaii" moments — the Aina Haina beach scene with McGarrett and lady friend Catherine was... at sunrise. I can tell you, grilling huge steaks and drinking Yellow Tail red wine isn't something the locals normally do at 6:30 in the morning. And few other places I can think of other than, perhaps, Australia. But maybe the series will start a trend.
The Quotable Danno
- "When the governor calls us down to the ME on a Saturday, what is there to smile about?"
- "Triple banana, bitch." (To McGarrett on his Ms. Pac-Man prowess.)
- "You got into some Barry White, didn't you?"
- "I gotta be honest, I actually didn't mind that one." (To McGarrett on the "Book 'em, Danno" line.)
'Five-0' map mashup
Oahu's getting packed with yellow camera icons. They're going to have to start filming on the neighbor islands any minute!
View 3DHawaii.com's 'Hawaii Five-0' scene spotting in a larger map
